What I Want Most
by Les Lasagna
Summary: I want a strong father who will look out for me...but I've left the closest that came to one twice because I didn't have the courage to ask.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I loved to hang around at the park, where the swings and merry-go-rounds kept me busy. I had no right to complain. I lived a very good life. I was free and had no one telling me what to do. I could go where I wanted when I wanted. I could, unlike most twelve-year-old girls, protect myself. I was half ghost. Twice I had been victim of an attempted mugging and used my ghost powers to escape. It was quite easy, really. Just turn intangible and smile as they get frustrated that they _literally_ can't touch you. Nothing scared me.

Unless you bring my dad into the picture. He tried to destroy me. He tried to melt me into ectoplasm, which for a ghost is both blood and body. But I'm very lucky. See, I have a cousin who also has ghost powers. Unlike my dad, he never used them to hurt me. Actually, he wasn't just my cousin, he was my clone. Er...well, more like I was _his_ clone. I didn't know if that was the reason he didn't hurt me or not, but I was glad he didn't. In fact, he saved me from my dad each time I was in danger.

But...even though living so freely and so happily was great, something inside me just wasn't satisfied. Vlad Masters, my dad? He was also half ghost (he named his ghost half, 'Vlad Plasmius'). Ironic, I know. I'm half ghost, my cousin is half ghost, and my dad is half ghost. Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if another random half ghost person suddenly materialized in front of my face at this very moment. But as far as I know, we were the only three half ghosts in the entire world.

I was unique. I was free. I was protected. Yet at the same time I wasn't unique. I wasn't free. I wasn't protected. Vlad wasn't really my dad even though I had no choice but to call him that. I mean, he made me and I just had to accept that I was created from my dad's utter insanity and the DNA of his rival. Then I found out that he wanted a son even though he had a daughter right in front of him.

I guess...maybe I just wanted a different dad... One who wouldn't try to hurt me at all. One who would love me to death and hug me and let me sleep with him if I got nightmares (I may look twelve but I'm actually just a few months old). I wanted a dad who would be happy to give me a home and food (one of the things I had a hard time getting) and who wouldn't mind an extra person in his house.

But you know, my cousin Da- No, no... I was a clone. We weren't even real cousins; I was just a mockery of him. I even had the same name (well, I had the female version but when shortened, it was the same). He didn't seem to mind though. In fact, he almost seemed to like the idea of having another half ghost around.

I sighed as I slowly tapped the ground with the toe of one shoe, rocking myself on the swing. The dad I wanted was someone who would look out for me. I wanted someone who would take care of me when I was sick and even help me pick out a costume for Halloween. As good as my life is now, I've always wanted to help decorate a Christmas tree, or celebrate my birthday (which hasn't come yet, but hey, a girl can dream). I wanted family picnics in the park, and, as embarrassing as this may sound, bonding time with my dad. Or the one I wanted, anyway.

I wanted someone I could look up to, someone I could look at and think to myself, _He won't let me down._

I...I wanted a dad... I had no family of my own and the ghost zone (another plus of being on your own) served as a very temporary home. I only went in there a few days at a time, maybe a week tops, and it was always awesome to see random green and black globs of ecto-stuff floating up and down like moving mold or slow-mo, gravity-defying water. But you know, life for me just wasn't complete.

Something deep inside me longed to have a loving father like everyone else seemed to have. I always watched a girl's father swing her or play frisbee or set out a picnic...and I got a little jealous of them. They always seemed to happy. My dad would never even let this cross his mind. In fact, my dad wouldn't even come see me. He chose to stay in Wisconsin while I was here in Amity Park.

Yes. Amity Park. Home of Danny Phantom, resident superhero. When I said my cousin was half ghost, I didn't mean it in a way that he lurked in the shadows like a really creepy person, I meant that he was _literally_ half ghost, half human. My cousin _was_ Danny Phantom. Of course, no one else knew that save for a select few people.

Danny Phantom was the name he chose for his ghost half (like my dad chose his own name). His human half had been named by his parents, and of course the last name came with it. His real name was Daniel James Fenton and the townspeople were too dense to figure out that a 'weak', 'scrawny' (I loved him but let's face it, he wasn't exactly a classic superhero image), and 'wimpy' (Lord, if only these people knew who they were picking on!) high school teenager was actually the infamous Danny Phantom himself.

Almost as a tribute to him, I named my ghost half Dani Phantom (I'm so proud of the time and thought spent on that completely original name). I had no middle name or last name, but my human name was Danielle. I just liked to be called Dani, though. I know, sooooo original, right! I knew that people would get a little confused if they were talking to Danny but I answered instead, thinking they might be talking to me, but oh well. I was Danny's clone, so why not name myself after him? I already had everything but his age and gender.

A thought, the same thought I'd had for a month now, hit me (again). Danny was the closest thing to a family I had. Every time we met he did, in a lot of ways, act like a father to me. And frankly, I had started to see him as a father ever since he wrecked Vlad's laboratory with an amazing power he called his 'ghostly wail'. It completely drained him, so much that he couldn't hold his ghost form and reverted back to Danny Fenton. He could've died. Vlad could've killed him. Vlad _would've_ killed him. But he did it to save me, to make sure I could get away. It became clear to me in that instant that Danny was more than ready to give his life to save mine.

Wasn't that what a real father would do for his daughter?

The second time we met was probably worse (for me, anyway) than the first time. Vlad had come within mere inches of destroying me. I was used as bait, unfortunately, so Valerie could capture both Danny and myself. Danny fell for it and even I can't say what exactly happened to him. I, on the other hand, happened to wake up (after Valerie so generously knocked us out) strapped down to an examination table in Vlad's lab (the rebuilt one). He was determined to find out how and why I lasted longer than all the other clones, all the other mistakes. I didn't even know the answer to that. I was eventually moved from the examination table and, too weak and unstable to fight back, onto yet another strap-contraption-thingy. It held my wrists and ankles while holding me upright. While I was degenerating, Danny had somehow managed to team up with Valerie and he did everything in his power to rescue me. In the end he sprayed a puff of Ecto-Dejecto (his father's invention that he had to use as a last resort) on my arm. I completely melted after that. But you know what happened? Even after I had become I trough of goop, the Ecto-Dejecto worked and I was able to reform from that goop.

The look on Danny's face, thinking he had let me die, was enough to know that he truly cared about what happened to me. And not about just what _happened_ to me...but about me period. He was so happy when I 'revived', so to speak (I had never actually died, I had merely changed in appearance), that he was able to save me after all.

Wasn't that supposed to be what a father's feelings toward his daughter were?

I sighed heavily on my little swing. It was nighttime; I was alone. I could speak my thoughts out loud and no one would ever know. I kind of wanted Danny to know though. He...he kind of...well, he met everything I imagined a father would be like. He acted like one. I even had his DNA. He was honestly more like a father to me than he would ever know. And we only met twice!

Then again he saved my butt both of those times... It was natural that I would think highly of him after that.

Okay! That's it! You know what?! This little idea of Danny being my father is stupid! He views me as a cousin _at most_. Besides, why in the world would a fourteen year old boy want a daughter? And a clone at that!

...

"Oh boy, I can't believe I'm doing this..." I muttered quietly to myself.

I transformed into my own half ghost form and flew high above the city...where I waited to see if there would be a blue streak across the sky followed by the angry cry of a ghost being sucked into his Fenton thermos.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Nothing was happening. It didn't help that the park was silent. The whole city was asleep and dull. Having 'inherited' Danny's genes, I liked to see a little action every now and then. But right now was a very serious time. I would do it. Don't think I won't, because I will! Just...not right now since he obviously wasn't around. Or maybe he was. Maybe he was out patrolling with his friends. I never thought it necessary to check his house because he was usually away from it at night. And I couldn't interrupt him during the day; I've seen his grades and let's just say all that ghost hunting has really taken its toll on them.

The wind whistled gently through the trees and the blades of grass. Looking down from how high up I was, I saw the park's slight ripple effect as the grass twitched and swayed at the mercy of the wind. I couldn't help but smile at the thought of me down there, stargazing with Danny. If nothing else, maybe he could be my friend. And maybe we could get as close as the two he always hung out with. We could go to the Nasty Burger (I know he loved that place), we could run NASA simulations on his computer (I've been in his house before and yes, I've gotten into things he shouldn't find out about), and we could fight ghosts together, with me as a new addition to their team. I could also help him study by taking off some of the ghost-fighting burden during the day. This way he could at least take notes to study when he had the time at home.

Wow... I must really be a daddy's girl, whether I had a dad or not.

And...maybe I would have a reason to claim I'm a daddy's girl soon. I really hope so... And I mean I _REALLY_ hope so...

Darn that boy! When was he going to show himself?! How long had I been waiting here?!

I paused at that thought. Um. I'd only been waiting for a minute or two. Maybe I was a little too desperate. I wanted a father but I didn't want one _that_ bad. ...Okay, so I did. But that's beside the point.

I looked up at the sky, where the stars shone all too clearly, piercing the blackness of night. Danny would love this. I knew because if there was any upside to being his clone, it was that I loved everything he loved. NASA, Dumpty Humpty, astronomy, and yes, even stargazing sometimes. Of course, Danny would really only do that with someone else as opposed to by himself.

I hated the feeling that he could be uncomfortable with my question. I certainly wouldn't blame him for it; I would probably be really uncomfortable too. It would probably feel like he had to simply because I didn't really have a home or family. He already understood that he was the only one I could turn to in times of need. By asking him if he would be my dad, he might feel like he had no choice. I honestly didn't want him to feel that way. My intention wasn't to cause him trouble...

Of course, this could prove to be a bad idea anyway since he would have to hide me from the rest of his family. How could he explain about a cousin he didn't have? His parents knew about their nieces and nephews. They would know I wasn't one of them. At the same time, how was he supposed to explain that my only actual relation to him was that of a cloning process gone awry? He couldn't reveal Phantom's identity to a family of ghost hunters! And I wouldn't want him to.

So where could I stay in a place like that?

Wait.

Technically, I was just a homeless little girl. If Danny brought me in telling his family that I was homeless and needed shelter, maybe they would let me stay with them. But then I would be pulled away from Danny... I hated the thought of his parents taking care of me. I needed Danny. He understood me the most out of anyone else in the whole world. Vlad _made_ me and wouldn't understand me! (Then again he never tried to.) Besides, I had entrusted my life to him and he refused to give up on me. He could've simply abandoned me on the spot, right when things were getting tough. But he didn't. He kept trying and didn't stop until it was over. And thanks to his persistence, I was able to survive.

So yes, I wanted him to be my dad if I were to ever have a dad.

Lost in my thoughts, I almost missed the bright blue beam across the sky that signaled Danny's appearance. Soon a random ghost's voice cried out, "I'll be back, ghost child!" Then everything fell silent.

The city was back to a sleeping bag of idiots (I say idiots because it was too easy to figure out Danny was the ghost boy; they looked exactly the same!) and I used the beam of light, now gone, to track Danny and his friends.

The way over, I couldn't help but wonder how long it had been since we last saw each other. It had been some while, I could tell that much. Every time I came, though, I left shortly after. This time I would want to stay permanently and I was both eager and nervous to find out what they would think of that. I mean, I was just a clone. A lot of people probably wouldn't care too much about a clone. But it's not like I could help it; it's not like I ever wanted to be a clone. I liked to think of myself as my own person but I knew others wouldn't see me that way. That was why only Danny, Sam, and Tucker knew my secret. And here Danny thought keeping his identity a secret was hard... Try keeping your own identity a secret _and_ the fact that you were cloned from a fourteen-year-old boy but came out a twelve-year-old girl a secret. That was twice as hard.

I was almost there when (I can't believe I didn't see this coming) Danny sped past me back to his house in a futile attempt to make it back by his curfew. He probably didn't even see me. I decided to just follow him to his house. He would come in through the front door so as to awkwardly greet his parents and apologize for coming home so late, while I would fly up to his room, phase through his window, and wait for him there. It would be fun to see the look of surprise on his face when he came into his room to find me in there.

With a smile playing on my lips, I followed him and carried out my plan. It worked pretty flawlessly.

I hovered silently near his window and looked down to see him transform back to Fenton as he landed on his front doorstep. The awkward part came along when he opened the door to peek inside. I couldn't see his parents, nor could I make out what they were saying, but I heard them shout a couple of things to him. I couldn't make out what he was saying either but I could easily bet he was apologizing for being late (which had become the usual for him).

I held back a laugh and phased through his window. As to be expected, his room was dark. I formed a small amount of energy in my hand, carefully holding it there so as to produce a kind of ghost lamp. His room was no different than the last time I had been here. Still covered in NASA posters, a couple of rocket models placed on a bookshelf (which had like three books), and of course, the typical mess of a teenage boy. A few empty soda cans on his desk, an unmade bed, laundry scattered here and there, and a neglected computer that had been left on all day.

I frowned.

How could he live like this? It was so messy and there was dirt on his carpet from where he came home with muddy shoes and never bothered to wipe them off or leave them at the front door. I even saw one brownish stain off to the corner of the room. Plus, all the laundry on the floor was unclean.

I decided to at least put his clothes in the hamper. This was nuts and- Oh, gross!

I delicately picked up a pair of boxers and held them out as far as my arm would go. Really! He couldn't even put his _boxers_ in the hamper?! What would happen if Sam decided to come in here and find this? Bet he would scrub this place top to bottom before he let her in here. He was lucky I was his clone and therefore could handle a dirty room like this better than most girls (being cloned from a boy did occasionally have its advantages).

I tossed his boxers in the hamper and was so _very_ happy to find two more thrown onto his floor. I decided to get the bad stuff over with and after those were clear, I turned to the rest of his clothes. Some of his shirts were muddy from sports (and by sports I mean being tackled to the ground by Dash). Others were sweaty and rancid with having been left uncleaned for so long. His jeans were better than even his shoes. Those were the easiest to deal with.

Once the laundry was done, I threw the empty soda cans away. That was pretty easy. The one thing Danny had cleaned was his trash can so I didn't have to take the trash out as well. All that was left to do was make his bed, which didn't take long at all since it was relatively small and meant to hold one person.

I finished smoothing out the covers and heard tired footsteps drag up the stairs.

I instantly reverted to my human form.

Seconds later, Danny opened his door.

Heheh...

Just as I expected, he looked shocked when he turned on the lights. I knew he would notice the room later, but for now his prime focus was me.

"Danielle?" he said, slightly cocking his head.

I smiled. "In the flesh."

He quickly shut the door behind him and came up to me. "What are you doing here? I-I mean, it's great to see you and all, but my parents or sister could come in and find you. I'm not sure how to explain stashing away a girl in my room."

I laughed. "Don't worry. I won't be here too long."

He rubbed the back of his neck, obviously remembering how soon I tended to leave. "You don't have to go right now; you just got here. Er...I think. Uh, how long have you been in my roo-"

He paused to look around, inspecting his freshly cleaned room. "Long enough to clean it, apparently."

I nodded. "I followed you here. And yes, I'm aware of how much that sounds like a stalker."

He pulled up the chair from his desk and chuckled. "Better you than some of my other stalkers."

I raised an eyebrow and he further explained.

"I mean Phantom's stalkers. The girls go gaga over me." He frowned. "And unfortunately, two guys."

"Wow, so you're popular with both sexualities. Nicely done, Mr. Phantom," I teased him. "Wonder how it feels to have some male fans who probably hope you're gay."

Rolling his eyes, he tried to change the subject. "So what exactly _are_ you doing here? Every time you come to me you seem to need help."

My smile dropped. I had been hoping to keep up some small talk for a little while longer, just so I could gather the courage to ask him. He already had a ghostly wail, was there any possibility of him being a psychic? Because I won't lie, that would be stellar. If he could read my mind, I wouldn't have to say anything out loud.

"I...um... I kind of need a place to stay..." I mumbled.

He frowned. "Really? Because you usually stay for a day and then shoot off into...well, who knows where."

"I go different places. I never linger around much," I replied. "But I think I've had enough adventures for awhile. I've been traveling a lot and I'm sort of exhausted. I was hoping I could stay in Amity Park for a few weeks."

He inhaled. "Well... I mean...there's no reason why you can't stay in Amity, but I don't know how to run this by my parents. If you were staying for one night, that would be different; I could hide you up in the ops center."

Looking away, I said (and no, I wasn't trying to pull a guilt trip), "Oh. Well, that's alright. I'll just find somewhere else."

"No, no," he said. "I'll see what I can do."

He patted his bed. "I guess you can sleep with me tonight. It'll feel awkward, and it'll be a little tight, but it's all I have right now. It's too late to smuggle you into the ops center."

It might feel awkward to him, but I was excited. This would be the first (and sadly, maybe the last) time I got to sleep with the person I considered a father.

I pretended to be unsure about the arrangement at first, but finally got in the bed. Danny went to his bathroom to change and climbed in with me, making sure I had enough room. I slept like a log, so I wouldn't be too much trouble. I didn't know if Danny was the same way. Hopefully he was.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Apparently Danny was a log sleeper just like me (but he snored). Considering that his bed was meant to hold one person, log sleeping on it was a really good thing. But you want to know the weirdest thing about this morning? Well I don't care, I'll tell you anyway.

I was literally on the fine line between conscious and unconscious. I was in and out of the same dream, with a bunch of time skips in between. The dream was about what 'quality family time' with Danny would be like. Well, apparently our quality family time was fighting ghosts. Normal people would have picnics in the park or go to an ice cream shop, but then there's us. In case there's any doubt, we weren't normal people.

Anyway, I don't quite remember the rest of the dream, but I do remember that I acted out something in the dream because when I finally snapped out of it, I felt myself curled up into a ball..._against something_. When I opened my eyes, I was nearly horrified to find out it was Danny. He was still sleeping, but I was really hoping he hadn't felt me do that.

So waking up to find out I had actually curled up against Danny in a tight bed where he couldn't exactly move out of the way without falling off wasn't the best way to start off the day.

In my spectrum of emotions (most of them just another word for embarrassment), I turned over. Not my best idea. Like I said, the bed was too small to easily hold the both of us, so I fell off the bed, landing ungracefully on my stomach. I didn't mean to, but I startled Danny awake with the loud _THUMP!_ I made.

I was Danny's clone, as you know. So I'm exactly like him, but with girl hormones (which makes me a little unlike him in a way). Danny was always very groggy when he woke up. So was I. He could be a little irritable when he woke up. So could I. He wanted to go back to sleep when he woke up. So did I.

So why didn't I do any of that? Well, put yourself in my position for a second. You're twelve, homeless, and want a dad. You have an older cousin who you know will protect you and already understands you. You go to his house and spend the night with him wondering how you're going to ask him to raise you. You finally get to sleep and when you wake up, you're curled up against his side (which means you've somehow managed to wedge yourself in between his arm and his side to the point where he's got his arm around you).

Now I think you can understand why I didn't do any of what Danny would normally do.

I heard a long groan and stayed flat on the ground, hoping he wouldn't see me (perfect time to forget you can turn invisible) or notice I was gone. But sometimes life just loved to slap me in the face for the heck of it. Danny knew I wasn't there and I heard him gasp.

"Danielle?" he whispered.

I could tell he would've called to me louder but couldn't because the rest of his family was still asleep. (Did I mention it was still dark out?)

Not wanting to worry him (since he knew I was 'gone' anyway), I stood up and smiled, flashing my eyes to let him know I there. When I say "flash my eyes", I mean briefly turn them a glowing green color before switching back to blue.

"I'm fine," I whispered back. "Just..."

I let the sentence hang there for a moment, trying to figure out an excuse that didn't trail the lines of, "I was snuggling up to you during the night and fell off the bed when I realized I did it."

Something finally clicked in my brain and I finished, "Just had a nightmare."

I heard him sigh in relief, probably thinking something had happened to me while he was still asleep, and I didn't need light (because I see very well in darkness once my eyes adjust) to see and hear him patting the bed.

"Come on," he whispered. "I think I can help with the nightmares."

I nodded again, wondering if seeing well in the dark was a gender thing (if it was, then he wouldn't be able to see as well as I could), and climbed back into his bed. I sat up and waited for him to help me out with my 'nightmare'.

"Lay down," he whispered.

I did as told and something else weird happened. I was thinking that he was going to show me a special way to get to sleep or some kind of relaxing position or something to get back to sleep in. I supposed you could call it a position...in a strange way that seemed so parent-like it made me flush.

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close to him.

Then he explained, "When I was younger I had constant nightmares, so my mom would let me sleep with her and she would do this every time I had one. I never had a nightmare twice in one night thanks to this."

See, if my back was pressed up to him, it might be a little different, but that wasn't the case. When he put his arms around me, he rolled me up so that it was like a hug.

"Uh...you're fourteen, isn't this weird to you?" I asked.

I felt him shake his head. "Not really. It kind of feels nice; you're like a little teddy bear."

One thing that tends to happen to all people, big or small, smart or dumb, good or bad...is that they're more likely to tell the straight out truth because their brains aren't fully aware yet. And...did he really just call me a little teddy bear? I was not like a little teddy bear! He-!

I heard him start snoring and I felt his chest push against me evenly. Just a second ago he was talking, now he's asleep again? Hm...well, he was a teenage boy. And he was a little on the short side, meaning he would be having growth spurts soon. I didn't know much about metabolism and how the male body began to shoot up for awhile, but I knew that Danny would start having growth spurts and that meant he would be more tired than normal for the next few years. I had also heard something about the body aching as it grew, but I had yet to decide on true or false with that. I was twelve; I was growing and I had no body pains. I wasn't sure if that's how it was for males, though. Danny's clone, but opposite gender.

I yawned and, since he was asleep anyway, wiggled a little to get comfortable. I was used to sleeping outside under the stars...so I was more than used to elbow room. This was definitely not elbow room. And now that Danny had me closer to him than ever before, it was more of a tight fit than when he wasn't holding me like this.

I got about as comfortable as I could before an all new thought struck me like a lightning bolt followed by the loudest of all thunder. If I really did have a nightmare (it wasn't an excuse to him since he didn't know), Danny was immediately willing to help it go away. He'd even used the tactic his mother had used on him. And I was sure it felt at least a little weird to him (or maybe not since I was basically a girl him) but it seemed to me as though he didn't care.

That was about as fatherly as one could get. Only half of me wanted this though. The other half hated the very thought of it simply because it knew I would be crushed if Danny got too uncomfortable with the idea. But I was so tired of traveling around looking for a home. I never found what I was looking for. Then Danny kept appearing in my thoughts shortly after I found out Vlad/Dad (I don't even know what to call him anymore... I'm forced to call him Dad just because he made me but honestly I think Danny is more of a father despite the little time we spent together; but I'm still pretty mad and...truthfully, pretty confused, about why my Vlad had to be my father) didn't want me at all and thought of me as his servant like the other clones.

Danny didn't think that way. He even went so far, even though I stabbed him in the back, as to completely leave me be. He wouldn't lay a single hand on me; not even when I was beating the daylights out of him! And you know what he said to me?

_"I won't fight you."_

The very sentence now brought tears to my eyes. He said he wouldn't fight me, and he never did. He protected me. And right after he said that...

_"You're not mindless like those other clones."_

He acknowledged me as his clone, but also as an actual person. Vlad had always kept me in the same class as the other clones. He told me I was the same as them, basically. At first I took that as a compliment, beaming at the thought of having siblings. I loved the 'fact' (back then it was a fact and not a lie) that I had a family headed by a father. Maybe that was why I wanted a father so bad and couldn't really care less for a mother. Not to say that a mom wouldn't be nice, but I never cared about the thought of a mom so much as I did of a dad.

But now the only person I could call a dad wanted to kill me. I was his _daughter_, his _child_! I shouldn't have to worry about him tracking me down and slowly killing me! He was my parent...uh...sort of...? When you're a clone, the term 'family' is very hard to describe because you were never born.

Oh man, if I kept thinking about this...!

Okay, okay...I'll admit it... It still hurts. I may be young, but traveling around forces you to mature, and I was mature enough to know that I was still at a tender age. If family life is disrupted (to you all, it would be like your parents fighting right in front of you, but you're young so you just can't quite cope with that), it gets confusing and worrisome and would bring about a sense of panic. I didn't know what was going to happen to me. So...I traveled in attempts to find a home. I never did find what I was looking for.

I carefully got out from under Danny's arm and transformed, hoping the light wouldn't wake him up. I phased through his window and headed for the park.

Sometimes I would break down because the pain became too much to bear. I tried to act strong but it hurt knowing that the only real family you have had created you to be a tool, a servant. And Vlad only used me to get to Danny. He wanted Danny...not me.

I landed on a swing and start rocking myself, not bothering to stop the tears (I didn't mind crying so long as I was alone when I did).

What was so wrong with me? What did gender mean? Why didn't Vlad want me? Sure, I wasn't a boy...but...he wanted a clone from Danny. He got one. But then he turned around and discarded me. I wasn't supposed to be dispensable... I wanted him to love me unconditionally, like parents should. Even now I felt this strange yet unwanted attachment to him. He could've at least pretended, you know? I still couldn't understand why he didn't just give me a chance. I tried to please him, I did. Apparently it wasn't enough.

I tried to calm myself down by closing my eyes and listening to the creak of the swing as it moved back and forth.

I realized that I had missed out the childhood I should've been able to have. Everyone else had one. But again, I was a clone. I wasn't born, nor did I have a childhood before a few months ago. That was one aspect of my life that I had come to accept, but it didn't make it any less depressing to think about.

I opened my eyes, hung my head a little, and rocked myself just a little bit higher.

During my long travels, I had heard a lot of things about a lot of things. One of them happened to be of family (several of them actually, but whatever, you get the point). I didn't remember all of it, but I do remember something about uncomfortable talks that parents didn't like talking about. But they loved their kids so they told them anyway.

I couldn't help but try to remember a time when Vlad ever gave me an uncomfortable talk, like one about a boyfriend. I've heard those were uncomfortable for some people. But there wasn't a time when he did that. He never gave me any sort of talk, actually, be it good or bad, comfortable or uncomfortable.

"You know," a voice beside me suddenly said, "You could've just told me if that was a little awkward for you. I mean, I know I'm a boy, but I would've underst-" His voice cut short as I turned my head away.

I couldn't let Danny see me cry. I most certainly didn't want to have a breakdown right in front of him.

"Dani?" he said. "You okay?"

I heard the swing beside me clank a bit as the metal chains holding it up were disturbed and knew he was sitting next to me. I had to hold back snivels and a quivering lip (I hated that my lower lip always quivered when I was crying or severely upset) because I knew he had no intentions of going anywhere anytime soon.

Vlad was his enemy. What good would it do me to tell him about his enemy?

"Hey... What's bothering you?" he asked softly.

I wished the wind would blow or something. I needed _something_ to move. Anything! Maybe I could use that as some sort of distraction. I could turn invisible but he would know I was still there. And if I move, the swing would relax from the sudden lack of weight on it. That would be a giveaway. And even if I turned invisible, I would only be able to hide the tears on my face. The ones that were falling off would show.

Besides, he wasn't a clone, he wouldn't understand...

"Dani, come on," he pressed. "I've helped you before, I can do it again, but you have to let me know what's wrong. Is it something I did?"

I shook my head and bit down hard on my lower lip. I could feel the little muscle in it jerking as it kept trying to send shivers through my lip.

He chuckled lightly. "Hey, if you're lying, I completely understand. I've done some pretty weird stuff in my sleep before! One time I woke up trying to eat my pillow."

I wanted to smile and laugh to show him I was fine but I couldn't do it. His little jokes weren't working.

"And another time, I woke with only my top half on the bed. Oh! And one time, my feet were under the mattress. I have no idea how that happened," he continued, laughing each time.

I still didn't smile. He wasn't helping at all, and he seemed to realize it because after he was done laughing, he cleared his throat awkwardly.

He hummed for a minute, trying to decide what to do or say next.

I couldn't stop thinking about Vlad though. I was paying very little attention to my 'cousin' right now. I was hearing him, but I wasn't listening. His words were going in one ear and out the other.

My breath started to falter and even though I tried to keep it under control, I knew he saw it (and heard it; since the wind wasn't blowing and since we were all alone in the quiet park, it was pretty audible) when he reached over and tapped on my shoulder.

"Danielle, if there's something on your mind, you need to let me know. Maybe you think I won't understand but how will you know unless you tell me?"

I shook my head again.

"I've been your age before. I know how confusing it can be."

Yeah, alright, but he had a family since day one. I didn't really even have a day one. I had year twelve and that was it. I had Vlad and three mindless clones while Danny had a loving family beside him. I was homeless whereas Danny had always had a home. I was a clone while he was original. I was a girl and he was a boy.

So how was he going to understand that? I did say he was the one who understood me most, but I never said he completely understood me. It was impossible for anyone to understand what I was going through, even Danny.

"Dani, don't be this way. We're family, we're supposed to help each other. How can I help if you won't tell me what's bothering you so much?"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I shook my head but right after I did that, I started shaking. It caused my breath to hitch just once and I knew it was all over from there. Danny would never go away (nor would he let _me_ go away) until I told him what was wrong.

"You won't understand..." I strained.

Danny hummed for a bit before saying, "Maybe I won't, but you should still tell me. It'll help take some of the weight off."

I shook my head again and he quietly laughed. It was a forced laugh though, something to help me feel better. It still didn't work.

"Yeah," he sighed, "You definitely take after me, Ms. Stubborn. Now drop the tough girl act and just spit it out. You know, to get me to leave if for nothing else."

I sighed heavily. He wasn't going to go away unless I told him...

I took a deep breath and said, "I don't have a home."

I didn't have to look at him to know he had frowned.

"I thought you liked being able to go everywhere," he said.

I nodded. "I do, but it's different. When you go somewhere, you can come back your house. When I go somewhere, I don't have anything to come back to."

I heard him exhale.

"Dani, why didn't you tell me this earlier?"

I shrugged.

"Because you don't have my problems," I said, trying to sound calm and casual. "You have a family, a home, plenty of food-"

"Wait, wait, hold up!" he immediately interrupted. "You've been hungry this whole time?"

I shrugged again. "It comes with being homeless but I eat enough to get by. How else do you think I had the energy to get back here all the way from Canada?"

"Quit acting like this isn't a big deal!" he yelled to me (not _at_ me; don't think he was blaming me for anything). "You couldn't have come to me?!"

I rolled my eyes. "Of course not. In case you haven't noticed, Vlad still wants to kill me. I can't come to you over every little thing; he knows that if I need help badly enough, you would be the first one I come to."

"Well then why stay here if you think Vlad will come after you?"

"Because I'm tired of traveling all over two countries. I figured that for once, I could drop by to say hi instead of burden you again. It's humiliating to come to someone only when you need help from them. That's what Vlad did to me, and I'm not going to do it to you," I replied.

For a moment he was silent. "So you've been running around everywhere to make sure he wouldn't find you. You were never traveling at all, were you?"

Well...yes and no. I did stay in a city from time to time, but only for about two days tops to rest and enjoy the sights. Then something in my brain finally snapped and the strong urge to leave overwhelmed me; I had to go. I would fly aimlessly around for a long time, sometimes even an entire day and a half, until I hit another city. My mind would be at ease thanks to all the ground I had covered. For awhile it would stay calm and I was allowed to rest, eat, and relax for a while. But traveling/running eventually became increasingly exhausting and I found myself longing to stay in one place just for a week at most.

But I was too worried that Vlad might find me if I let myself become a sitting duck, so I kept jumping from city to city until I wound up in Canada. I took three days' rest time before I had to leave again. I realized that I couldn't keep this up forever and had to get some _real_ rest. I turned around and though it took me forever, I made my way back to Amity Park. With Danny around, I knew there was a greater chance of Vlad finding me while I spent the time here resting (if Danny didn't want to be my dad then I really had no reason to stay here). But Danny was the top dog of this city. Godspeed to any who wanted to attack it.

Problem was, Vlad did that all the time. He was constantly butting heads with him. Danny was all but powerless to stop him in terms of strength. However, he was more resourceful than Vlad and used that to his advantage. He would always manage to gain an upper hand against my dad, but just _barely_ enough to surpass him. And even then, it was usually a draw between the two.

"Look, whether I've been traveling or running doesn't matter. I'm _literally_ exhausted. I don't really have that much strength left in me. I came here to rest for a few weeks (not really, I'm dying to stay here forever, but if Danny doesn't want me then there's no point; it'll just be awkward for everyone)," I said. "I can always move on to a different city but it's safer here."

"Because I'm here," he finished, much more of a statement than a thought.

I swallowed. "Yeah... But that's beside the point-"

"No," he interrupted. "That _is_ the point. You came to me for protection."

It wasn't just for protection! I wished he could realize that...but at the same time I was glad he didn't.

"Being homeless isn't the only thing bothering you, is it?" he said (not asked, _said_).

That did it for me. I flew off the swing and accelerated into the sky. Of course, it was too late to turn back and lie. Running from him only confirmed his suspicions. So...nice going.

Danny was faster than me. I couldn't fully control my powers yet. On top of that, I was seriously tired. After an emotional outburst, running from someone who wants to kill you, and flying across two whole _countries_, I was overly ready to fall asleep right then and there. And I would've, but like I said, Danny was faster than me. He had no difficulty catching up to me and grabbing my wrist, stopping me in midair. I floated despite my lack of motivation to keep floating. Frankly I didn't have any motivation to do anything right now (aside from dropping dead and curling up on the ground to sleep).

Grunting in frustration, I jerked my hand back, pulling myself out of his grasp.

"Dani, will you please just tell me what's wrong? I can _help_!" he cried.

"No, you can't!" I shouted.

"Yes, I can; we're cousins, that's what we do for each other," he replied.

I began to fly in the opposite direction but he sped around me and blocked my path.

"You can't help me," I said, turning around and flying away.

He flew past me and again blocked my path.

"Tell me," he urged. "I'm your cousin for Pete's sake! Why can't you just tell me what's going on?"

I shoved him out of the way. "We're not even real cousins, I'm just a clone!"

He pushed himself in front of me again. "That's not true, Dani."

"Yes it is! I'm just a copy of you. I'm not even related to you, okay? _Vlad's_ my father! Do you have any idea what it's like to be created by some crazy guy with ghost powers? What it's like to be used? What it's like to find out that your whole life is a lie? And then what it's like to watch as he explains how he wants a son, so you're considered his mistake just because you're not perfect? How can you help that? How can you understand that?" I snapped.

We both just floated there for a while, me waiting for a response and him...well, doing whatever. The wind still didn't blow. It hadn't all night and I desperately wanted it to. I need something to move! If nothing was happening then I had no distraction, nothing else to focus on. I didn't want this dreadful silence. And with each passing second it thickened.

Danny finally opened his mouth to speak, but his voice was scratchy and soft.

"I... Dani, I didn't know you felt that way..." he said gently.

"Well I do, so are you finally happy now? Got all the information you need?" I shot back. (Forgive me for being angry with him but you have to understand that this isn't easy for me to deal with. It never was and probably never will be. So...yeah, I tend to get pretty upset about it.)

"I don't want you to feel that way. For what it's worth, I never thought of you as a mistake. I know you've gone through some pretty rough times, but you're being too hard on yourself. You're perfect just the way you are. Besides, why would you want to be a boy? I mean, you saw my room," he added with a lopsided smile.

I ignored his remark about his room and looked back down at the empty park. Deciding he still wouldn't be too keen on letting me leave, I swooped down to land on my swing. Unfortunately for the one person who wanted to be left alone right now, Danny did the same and sat right beside me. I simply ignored him and started tapping the ground with my toe, just like I had done yesterday. I tried vainly to focus on a little tuft of grass in front of me so I wouldn't have to look at him and see whatever new expression had come across his face. Some people liked action during slower moments like this, but I preferred a much calmer atmosphere, which was why I made my rocking motions slow and just enough to rock an infant to sleep.

I felt him nudge my shoulder with the flat of his fingers.

"Hey," he said softly. "Let's go get something to eat. I know some nice fast food places that are open all night."

I transformed back into my human form. I wanted to turn down the offer but the truth was, I was starving and I had no money. Besides, who else would take me out to eat? Plus, I've made it pretty obvious that I was searching for a dad (and who better than Danny?) and this was pretty fatherly. To me anyway.

"So," he continued as he also transformed, "What kind of foods do you like?"

"I'm your clone," I muttered. "I like all the foods you do."

"Oh. Um, well... What are you in the mood for?"

Honestly, I was up for anything right now. Anything (and I mean anything such as, it's edible) would be great. I was twelve so...I didn't really care. Plus, I had no allergies, be it airborne, environmental, or food. I was one lucky girl. For the most part, anyway.

I shrugged. "Nothing in particular. I'll just go with you."

He smiled and took my hand. "There's place me and my friends love to hang out at called the Nasty Burger. How about there?"

I made a face. "That doesn't sound very appetizing..."

"Yeah..." He chuckled. "I think the person who named it was drunk. But the burgers there aren't nasty; they're pretty good."

I moved my head to the side a little and shrugged again. "I guess it won't hurt to try it. But I don't have any money on me."

This time he was the one who shrugged. "You don't need to. Consider it a welcoming gift."

My breath caught in my throat. I can guarantee you he didn't want me to feel like I owed him money but... He was finding every little loophole in this, wasn't he? Darn that boy and his hero complex! The only way I was getting out of this would be to...um... Well, he wouldn't let me turn down the offer, that much I knew, and he wasn't going to let me pay even if I had a million bucks. There _was_ no way to weasel out. He had me stuck now, so that was nice to know.

But I took pride in my ability to be sneaky. I would slip the money I owed into his wallet when he wasn't looking; once I got the money, that is.

But then he would notice the extra cash and he would know...

Darn.


End file.
